The summer of 2011 has been ruled by R-rated comedies loosely based on raunch with very rewarding stories ("Bridesmaids" "Paul" "Horrible Bosses"). Therefore, "The Change-Up" had a lot to live up to with Jason Bateman taking control of the comedy genre this year and Ryan Reynolds returning to his forte after "The Green Lantern" flop. With this being said, "The Change-Up" was the mindless, uninspired, fulfilled film of the summer, relying solely on going above and beyond the usual limits of blunt humor and rallying with a fulfilling emotional finish. This grownup application of the "Freaky Friday" phenomenon follows best friends Dave Lockwood (Bateman) and Mitch Planko (Reynolds) who have drifted apart over the years. Dave has always been a workaholic allowing him to become a rich successful lawyer with a beautiful wife, Jamie (Leslie Mann, "Funny People"), and three kids. Mitch is the complete opposite with a very laid back life style as an aspiring actor who smokes weed and lives off one night stands. As the two reconnect with a night full of drinking and peeing in a fountain they wish that they had each other's lives. Nothing logical happens at this point as lightning strikes causing Dave and Mitch to experience the other's life. Starting with an hour of laugh out loud vulgar comedy and ending with an emotional wakeup call to what is important in life, the film is all over the place. However, everything seems to come together as Olivia Wilde ("Cowboys and Aliens") tops this male-comedy flick off with some good old sexiness.
Both Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are outrageous with their portrayals of Mitch mixing cursing and sporadic randomness. The ridiculousness of Mitch is offset by calmer comedy found in Dave trying to find himself within his self-reliant role he is stuck in. This is offset even further by a very dramatic performance by Leslie Mann, who is legitimately, scarily and realistically good as a mother wanting her husband to give her attention. Lastly, Olivia Wilde deserves a nod for her satisfyingly sensual performance sexier than ever.
Please prepare yourself and know what you are getting into when going to see this film. The R-rating is rightfully earned with crudity abound and some jokes based on sore subjects. This film is not for everybody and when it comes down to it, the film is all over the place. The film lacks some fluidity as the emotional ending is set up slowly within the extreme continuous comedy in a very predictable manner. Ultimately, neither the comedy routine nor the storyline brings anything fresh to the adult comedy genre making this film only average.
A bellyful of laughs at the start, and an offbeat emotional conclusion awkwardly works in this late summer comedy even though we have seen all of this before and are better off hitting up the three aforementioned comedies for entertainment.
Both Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are outrageous with their portrayals of Mitch mixing cursing and sporadic randomness. The ridiculousness of Mitch is offset by calmer comedy found in Dave trying to find himself within his self-reliant role he is stuck in. This is offset even further by a very dramatic performance by Leslie Mann, who is legitimately, scarily and realistically good as a mother wanting her husband to give her attention. Lastly, Olivia Wilde deserves a nod for her satisfyingly sensual performance sexier than ever.
Please prepare yourself and know what you are getting into when going to see this film. The R-rating is rightfully earned with crudity abound and some jokes based on sore subjects. This film is not for everybody and when it comes down to it, the film is all over the place. The film lacks some fluidity as the emotional ending is set up slowly within the extreme continuous comedy in a very predictable manner. Ultimately, neither the comedy routine nor the storyline brings anything fresh to the adult comedy genre making this film only average.
A bellyful of laughs at the start, and an offbeat emotional conclusion awkwardly works in this late summer comedy even though we have seen all of this before and are better off hitting up the three aforementioned comedies for entertainment.